Three

The incredibly amiable Black Grass return for a third longplayer outing – this time as a one man out fit, Mex, with the usual expertly-picked selection of vocalists mixing up hip-hop, funk, disco, soul, reggae and ska.

From the off you know you’re dealing with quality – the jaunty flautism and sickly syncopated scratching of openere Alright quickly setting the tone, before Dionne Charles perfectly balanced soulful tones glide over the disco-tinged Without Your Love. What follows is a masterclass in all musics black and funky, with a bevy of the most brilliantly chosen vocalists to suit each occasion.

J-Live serves up straight-up grooving hip-hop flows on the pizzicatoed guitar licks of Set It Straight, Benjammin’ takes us over to Kingston for some party ska in the form of the rousing Bass Man, and Dionne Charles returns to dish out some advice to girls about not putting out too quickly on the sassy, horny soul food that is Hold Fire.Bless lays down some Central/South American flavours, and Away closes the album in surprisingly languid, melancholic tone with Rider Shafique’s foreboding patois vocal lilting over the treacle-like beats and haunting, quivering, organ-like tones, showing that Black Grass isn’t just about party tunes.

Quetzalcoatl Returns gives a brief break from vocals; a lush instrumental laden with classy strings, golden, Spanish guitar plucking, funky organs and a cool dub reggae bassline. It’s good to hear Mex’s musicality flying solo for a change – and this track really does hammer home how talented he is.

Superb scratching reigns throughout, sounding like a fully-fledged musical component rather than a showy afterthought, and the album exudes hot, sunny vibess throughout. Definitely one for the barbecues this, and with very little to find fault with, we recommend it very highly.